Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

There are many people who have a good relationship with the village chief.

The most prominent one at present is Makoto Yata.

Sano saw Makoto Yata's photos from the perspective of the Black Fox.

Could it be that he spent half a year in seclusion learning the art of disguise?

Sano didn't quite understand, but even if the mastermind wasn't Makoto Yata, but someone else who was close to the village chief, it couldn't be that he just happened to look like Shinichi Kudo, or that he just happened to know how to disguise himself... Besides, after Ran Mouri wiped that imposter's face, the idea of ​​disguise no longer held water. It couldn't possibly be that, as he had said before, there was a disguise technique that couldn't be exposed.

But aside from disguise, what other methods can make one person look exactly like another... Hmm, wait a minute, half a year?

Suddenly, Sano remembered a time when Conan was nagging him.

A case that was mentioned before.

In that case, the murderer used a very perverse method to transform herself, in the prime of her life, into an old woman in her seventies or eighties.

...Is this place also for plastic surgery?

No way, what deep-seated hatred could drive someone to such extremes?

Sano rubbed his temples, remembering the poster that was pasted on the wall in Makoto Yata's room.

A large poster of Shinichi Kudo.

...Stalker fans are terrifying; the deeper the love, the deeper the hate.

Yes, very likely!

Finally, regarding the victim in this seemingly inexplicable case, Sano also had some thoughts. It was about the reporter at the crime scene who pointed out the biggest flaw in Shinichi Kudo's reasoning—the motive. That guy came in with an arrogant and haughty demeanor.

It already has very much the characteristics of a deceased character.

The crucial point is that at the end, he even mocked the fake Shinichi Kudo, saying that he had discovered the conspiracy and that he had better come to his room for a detailed discussion...

Uh, I don't know if this is a serious conversation.

Anyway, the fake Shinichi Kudo looked terrible, and Sano could clearly sense the murderous intent in his eyes through his fox-like eyes.

Beyond this.

Sano could only occasionally see a hint of hatred in the eyes of this fake Shinichi Kudo when the name Shinichi Kudo was mentioned, when the details of the case were discussed, or when he saw the large photograph in the room.

Most of the time, this person is very good at pretending.

As for Ueno...

Sano used the Black Fox disguise to test the waters, and he spoke quite frankly about it.

"Bourbon's detective agency isn't a place just anyone can join," was a great opening line, but unfortunately, Ueno pretended not to understand.

They wouldn't say a single unnecessary word, even after rambling on about trivial matters.

Sano naturally couldn't really break off relations... Not to mention that the gains would be minimal, the key issue was that even if he really uncovered all of Ueno's secrets...

That's pointless.

That old bastard Rum is wary of even his trusted confidant Curaçao, let alone this guy. Even if he extracted all the information about Ueno, it probably wouldn't be of much use.

It's better to pretend that you don't intend to do anything and just want to maintain the appearance of peace.

It's good to wait until later to force Rum to show himself.

After arranging for Daikoku to keep an eye on the fake Shinichi Kudo, Sano went to sleep.

Of course, Sano also arranged for Futaku to keep an eye on Ueno.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be good if this guy tried to cause trouble while I was asleep.

"If anything seems wrong, just bite him and that's it."

After giving Erhei a safety net, Sano went to sleep.

The next day, Ueno didn't cause any trouble, but the fake Shinichi Kudo took action—"Oh no! Kudo has suddenly disappeared!"

Hattori Heiji pushed open the door to Sano and started yelling.

"What are you shouting for? You're a grown man, not a child. What are you afraid of?"

Sano replied impatiently.

"But that guy has amnesia, and..."

Hattori Heiji glanced at the door; the others weren't there because they were also looking for someone. He immediately moved closer to Sano and said, "And don't you know what's wrong with that guy? He only temporarily turned back after taking some medicine. According to that brat from Professor Agasa's family, he'll turn back in 24 hours at most, or even sooner. I don't even want to think about what would happen if he lost his memory and suddenly turned into a child outside!"

"...Found it!"

Before Sano could reply, Toyama Kazuha ran over.

"Some villagers said they just saw him heading towards the village chief's house!"

"what?"

Hattori Heiji was taken aback, then exclaimed in surprise, "Has that guy regained his memories?"

"How would I know..."

Before Kazuha Toyama could finish speaking, Heiji Hattori had already taken off running.

This made Toyama Kazuha puff out his cheeks.

...Although it's not nice to say it like this, well, it's unpleasant.

"Okay, let's go."

Sano patted Toyama Kazuha on the shoulder and didn't stray from the group any further.

And so, the group returned to the crime scene.

Oh no, it's the village chief's villa, which is now still referred to as the crime scene.

It's not wrong?

Because that fake Shinichi Kudo committed murder.

Oh no, it's not exactly murder, because the person isn't dead yet.

Anyway, Hattori Heiji, who was in charge, rushed over and saw that the female reporter from yesterday was lying in a pool of blood, and the fake Shinichi Kudo, whose chest was covered in blood, was holding a blood-stained knife in his hand, looking frightened and dazed.

Hattori Heiji quickly told Toyama Kazuha to call an ambulance, but forbade him to call the police.

This is naturally because they don't want to believe that "Shinichi Kudo" would kill someone.

If "Shinichi Kudo" were to be taken away, it would undoubtedly be a result of a treacherous plot.

...Of course, it probably doesn't matter whether "Shinichi Kudo" is taken away or not. After all, he has "amnesia" now, so even if he stays, he won't be of any use. Heiji Hattori is probably worried that if he's locked up in the police station, the effects of the drug will suddenly wear off and he'll turn back into Conan or something.

There's been no action yet on this side.

Ambulances and police cars arrived at the same time.

Left with no other choice, Hattori Heiji could only leave through the back door with the fake Kudo Shinichi.

Sano and his men stayed behind to deal with the police.

After the police investigated the scene, he made a confident statement and left.

Sano and the others then left through the back door and arrived at a parking lot.

Hattori Heiji was pacing anxiously behind the car.

"Where's Shinichi?"

When confronted by Ran Mouri, Heiji Hattori simply patted the trunk lid of the car and then asked about the situation. Kogoro Mouri explained that the blood and fingerprints on the murder weapon had been recorded. Furthermore, since it had rained the night before, according to the police's investigation of the scene, apart from the victim's footprints, the only other footprints found were those of the people present... To put it more bluntly.

It only has "Shinichi Kudo".

Even those shoes were bought by Toyama Kazuha just yesterday, there's no mistake.

This greatly displeased Hattori Heiji.

He stiffly stated that the murderer deliberately wore "Shinichi Kudo's" clothes to commit the crime, with the aim of framing the culprit—"Besides, this guy doesn't have a key to the village chief's house, and it was Inspector Shiroyama who opened the door for him yesterday..."

"My key was given to me by Master Chengren."

Before Hattori Heiji could finish speaking, a voice came from behind.

Turning his head, he saw the policeman who had led Hattori Heiji and his group to revisit the scene yesterday. He was also the only policeman in this small village, and his surname was Shiroyama.

Before Hattori Heiji and the others could be shocked, Shiroyama said that besides him, the only other person who had the key was the heir, Yuta Makoto. He then added that he had lent the key to him before.

The girl who was here yesterday too.

That is, Makoto Yata's female classmate.

...I have a feeling there's something fishy going on between these two?

Otherwise, why would an ordinary student come to question him with such righteous indignation?

"I think the village chief committed suicide more likely..."

Unable to find a solution to the current situation, everyone turned their attention to a case from a year ago that was very likely related to the present.

However, Hattori Heiji rejected Toyama Kazuha's idea.

Besides the fact that there are too few clues, he probably doesn't want to overturn Shinichi Kudo's reasoning... It feels like this dark-skinned guy's head is a bit off now, maybe because the fact that "Shinichi Kudo" committed the crime is too shocking?

Otherwise, how could he have said such foolish things before?

...This strange, intensely homoerotic feeling.

Sano rubbed his temples, thinking, "No, no, I can't think about this too much."

The conversation then turned to the God of Death. Kazuha Toyama said that he had heard two rumors while he was still awake at the inn last night.

First, the curse of the god of death can be broken.

Secondly, the reporter who was stabbed this time had encountered the curse of the god of death a year ago. Her daughter entered that forest and never returned.

...This seems to be the reason why the female reporter provoked the fake Shinichi Kudo.

However, the former is more important.

The way to break the curse is to find the God of Death.

"...Ran, where's Ran!?"

Before they could even find a clue, Kogoro Mori realized something was wrong and started making a fuss. Heiji Hattori glanced down at him and said, "She's probably planning to go find the god of death to break Kudo's curse... What about Sano?"